Posts Tagged ‘synagis

My son is a 30 weeker born in February. He spent about 4 hours intubated, 3 days on CPAP, and 2 weeks on nasal cannula. We received one Synagis shot when it was time to come home in late March. His pediatrician helped us file an appeal to try to get him an April and May shot because our area had a late season. We were denied again anyway, so we stayed on lockdown until mid-June.

How to handle the upcoming cold and flu season has been on my mind a lot lately. I’ve been reading stories of other preemie families around the same birth age as my son. I want to have all my questions ready to ask at his 6 month wellness visit this week.

I think I have our plan mapped out. I know my husband will support me. I’m working on a letter for family and friends because I know there will be some resistance there. In the end, I will do what I feel is best for my son. I feel like this fall is especially important because he will be having surgery requiring anesthesia in November.

Yesterday, I received a letter from our insurance company denying coverage for Drake’s next Synagis shot. The reasoning given was that the season ends in March and giving the shot outside of the season shows no benefit. However, I can go to the RSV tracking system on the cdc site, and see that while cases are declining our region is still not done with it due to a late onset.

The secondary reason was that as a preemie of 29 to 30 weeks gestation, he doesn’t really need it anyway. Excuse me? So now, I’m waiting for the pediatrician’s office to call me back. They have a special person on staff to deal with appeals like this.

The whole thing came after a night of nonstop crying due to gas and reflux. So I was exhausted anyway, and I just lost it. I was washing and sanitizing bottles and having a nervous crying fit. All that runs through my head is the pictures of infants who have had it I’ve seen on the literature for Synagis and RSV.

I don’t think I have the strength to endure another NICU stay for Drake. And you’d think the stupid insurance company after spending half a million or more dollars on his first stay would want to pay a paltry $1k to keep him from going back.

One thing that got me through his first stay and going every day to the hospital and leaving alone was a mural at Good Sam. When you come into the hospital on the 5th floor from the parking garage and make the right to take the elevators to the 9th, there’s a mural. It’s done in bright yellows and blues and it has that verse. Weeping shall endure for a night, but JOY will come in the morning.